In 1995, area Democrat U.S. Rep. Tim Holden was a relatively new member of Congress when he voted against a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Now, 16 years later, Holden, of the 17th district, joined Republicans and just 24 other Democrats in voting in favor of a near identical amendment.

When asked why the switch, Holden said in a statement, "Our accumulated debt situation is much worse and we must get our fiscal house in order."

Ironically, the amendment passed the House in 1995 when Holden voted "no," and it failed Friday when he voted "yes."

The balanced budget would require the government to only spend what it takes in. It needed two-thirds vote in the House and Senate. It then would need to be ratified by at least three-fourths of states. Republicans argued it was necessary to get put the nation's economy on the right path, while Democrats said it was dangerous to restrain government while the economy was still struggling.

"Congress has the rare opportunity to break the reckless cycle of spending that has taken us to this current breaking point," said U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8th district, on the House floor.

“In a perfect world, the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment would not be necessary," said U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-15th district, in a statement. "Congress would have recognized the looming budget crisis, changed their ways, and began enacting policies to position our nation on a responsible fiscal path. In reality, the implementation of a Balanced Budget Amendment will force elected officials to make the difficult decisions that have been avoided for decades."

Fitzpatrick, Dent, and all other Pennsylvania Republicans voted for the balanced budget amendment. Western Pennsylvania Democrat U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire joined Holden in voting with the Republicans for the amendment.

The Obama campaign put out a fact sheet this week showing the impact state-by-state of a balanced budget requirement if revenues also stayed the same. In Pennsylvania, it said, cuts would include $9.1 billion in Social Security, $6.1 billion in Medicare, $3.6 billion in Medicaid and close to $200 million in K-12 education.